The owner of Hunterdon County‘s longest-running yoga studio is offering locals an easy way to reduce the volume of single-use plastics that wind up in landfills, incinerators and waterways.

Located at 23 Race St. in Frenchtown, Eco Loka invites shoppers to bring their own reusable containers and then fill them with products such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent and household cleaners.

Since the products are sold by the ounce, Eco Loka said its prices are lower than what’s purchased in traditional packaging at supermarkets and specialty stores.

Eco Loka was launched by Bonnie Pariser, who founded Yoga Loka in 2003. Pariser was motivated to establish a refill store in the reception area of her studio to promote circular reuse.

“When we practice yoga, we seek to follow ahimsa, non-violence,” Pariser said. “When we can be kinder to the environment by reducing our use of plastics and eliminating single-use items, we will be kinder to everything.”

Pariser, who has hosted community clothing swaps for years at Yoga Loka, said Eco Loka – Hunterdon County’s first refill store – “makes it easier for all of us to practice environmental sustainability, which is a fundamental element of ahimsa.”

She also recently began a mending circle where people can come together to learn how to repair and reuse clothing rather than discarding it.

“I have been a dedicated thrift store shopper since high school. Like thrift stores, clothing swaps and mending circles keep viable clothing in use rather than buried in the ground,” said Pariser, adding that refill shops help extend the practice to personal care and cleaning products.

Eco Loka is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from noon to 5 p.m. on weekends, as well as by appointment.